Four up-and-coming singers will perform with Thames Philharmonic Choir at Cadogan Hall on 28 March. Let's meet them…
Scottish soprano, Katy Thomson is looking forward to the Cadogan Hall concert. She says: "Having first sung the Beethoven Mass in C Major and the Mozart Solemn Vespers as a child (in the chorus), the works hold a very special place in my heart", and she is thrilled to be singing the solo parts. She began singing as a chorister at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, aged eight, so she feels that sacred music and oratorios are in her blood.
Katy’s exceptional musicianship and love for contemporary music have led to her becoming a sought-after artist for new music across the country. She has participated in the St Endellion Easter Festival since 2009 and is now the Festival's co-Chairman. She is "hugely looking forward to returning to the St Endellion Easter Festival in April to feature as the soprano soloist for Haydn's Nelson Mass and to perform James MacMillan's Scots Song".
Katy is in her final year of The Royal College of Music Opera Studio.
Follow Katy on Twitter @scottish_katy
Or visit www.katythomson.co.uk.
Contralto Jess Dandy is looking forward to singing the two works for the first time. "The Requiem and Missa Solemnis are the usual order of the day for me, so it’s great to be exploring new repertoire."
Jess hugely enjoyed making her Carnegie Hall debut with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in February, and will return there later this year with The English Concert's World Tour of Rodelinda. Other highlights in the 2019-20 season include: Beethoven Symphony No 9 on tour with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Rachmaninov Vespers with the London Concert Choir; and St Matthew Passion with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
She is co-founder of SongPath, a mental health initiative raising money for two local branches of Mind in Cumbria and providing healing ways of connecting through site-specific curated walking trails. (www.SongPath.co.uk)
Follow Jess on Twitter @DandyJessica
Or visit www.jessdandycontralto.com
Like Jess, tenor Magnus Walker will be singing both works for the first time. He says: "Mozart and Beethoven have always been a big part of my musical life and education, so it's always a privilege to learn more of their work."
Magnus is currently in his fourth year at the Royal Academy of Music. He was a regular member of the chorale for the Kohn Bach Cantata series, and now sings in the ‘Bach the European’ series, including solos in the St Matthew Passion with Trevor Pinnock.
Magnus made his Three Choirs Festival soloist debut in Elgar’s The Kingdom in 2016, when he stepped into the role at short notice to great acclaim. Concert highlights since include Mozart’s C Minor Mass at St John’s Smith Square, the arias in Bach’s St John Passion and St Matthew Passion, and performances of Schubert’s Winterreise around the UK. Magnus also works professionally as an ensemble singer with groups such as the Oxford Bach Soloists, Classical Opera and the Mozartists. He is looking forward to taking part in the UK's first performance of CPE Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
Originally from Fife, Niall Anderson is a member of Royal Academy Opera. Winner of the Royal Academy of Music Pavarotti Prize in 2019, his roles at the Academy have included Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (La Tragédie de Carmen), Somnus (Semele), Bertrand (Iolanta), and Haràšta (The Cunning Little Vixen). Niall has performed globally, most notably singing the role of Christus in Bach's St Johannes Passion in Würselen, Germany.
A keen performer of new music, Niall sang the Baritone Solo in the Welsh premier of Paul Mealor’s Symphony No1, Passiontide. Recent engagements include Haydn's Nelson Mass, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Speaker in Royal Academy Opera's production of Die Zauberflöte.
Niall made his Wigmore Hall debut in November in a recital with Julian Prégardien and Christoph Schnakertz. He also featured as a soloist in the Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata Series in 2018 led by Iain Ledingham.
Follow Niall on Twitter @NandoBassBari
Or visit www.niallandersonbaritone.co.uk